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Origin and history

The former church of Saint-Martin-du-Jaur, located in Saint-Pons-de-Thomières, is mentioned for the first time in 936 in the charter of foundation of the Abbey of Saint-Pons. The present building, built in the 15th century, replaces a Romanesque church of the 11th or 12th century, some of which (such as the northwestern square massif or western façade) have been preserved. This site, occupied since Neolithic, was a place of unbroken worship until 1789, when the parish was transferred to the cathedral.

The late Gothic church features a unique nave with side chapels and a polygonal bedside. The full-cindered diaphragm arches, the massive foothills and the arches over the døogives cross bear witness to its medieval structure. The sanctuary, rebuilt in the late 16th or 17th century after the Wars of Religion, contrasts with the older nave. The pentagonal abside, once vaulted, and the broken arched southern gate also recall its Romanesque heritage.

The building, abandoned after 1789, retains traces of its central role in the formation of the village of Thomières. Its architecture thus combines Romanesque, Gothic and classical elements, reflecting successive reconstructions. The remains of the early warheads of the ancient choir, visible behind the first diaphragm arch, illustrate this historical stratification. Ranked a Historical Monument in 1984, the church remains a major witness to local religious and architectural evolution.

The site, linked to the source of the Jaur, attests to a thousand-year-old cultural occupation, from Neolithic to Revolution. The initial Romanesque church, with three naves, was replaced by a more modest Gothic building, adapted to parish needs. The lateral chapels, covered with dogive vaults, and the northwest massif (probable base of a Romanesque bell tower) highlight this transition. Post-revolutionary abandonment has frozen its state, offering a rare example of unfinished architectural evolution.

The location of the church, in the immediate vicinity of the Jaur spring, reinforces its symbolic importance. The village of Thomières developed around this place of worship, as the medieval archives show. The wars of Religion, having damaged the sanctuary, explain its partial reconstruction in the 16th-17th centuries. Today, the remaining parts (nave, chapels, facade) have been protected since 1984, preserving this hybrid heritage.

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